Knife attack injures eight at attraction

Jordan: Tourists among the victims

A lone attacker has stabbed eight people, including four foreign tourists and their tour guide, at an archaeological site in northern Jordan.

The incident occurred at Jerash, one of the country’s top tourist destinations.

The wounded included three Mexican tourists and a Swiss woman, according to a spokesman for Jordan’s public security office.

Along with the tour guide, three other Jordanians, including two security officers and a bus driver, were hurt before the attacker was arrested.

The office said two people, a Mexican woman and a Jordanian security officer, were in a serious condition and airlifted to the capital, Amman, by helicopter.

Mexico’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said the attack occurred during a guided tour and confirmed that one person was seriously wounded and said a second was in surgery. “The Jordanian government has supported us throughout this,” he said.

Amateur video showed a bloody scene next to the Jerash archaeological site, an ancient city whose ruins include a Roman amphitheatre and a columned road.

In one video a woman can be heard screaming in Spanish: “It’s a dagger, it’s a dagger, there is a knife. Please, help him now!”

One woman is seen lying on the ground with blood around her as someone presses a towel to her back.

Jordan’s economy relies heavily on tourism, and Islamist militant groups have in the past targeted tourist sites. A 2016 attack by the Islamic State group killed 14 people, including a Canadian tourist.

The tourist sector has enjoyed a strong rebound over the past two years.

“It’s a dagger, there is a knife. Please, help him now!”